Revenge and the Wild

True Grit meets True Blood in this delightfully dark and fantastical Western perfect for fans of Gail Carriger, Cassandra Clare, and Holly Black. This thrilling novel is a remarkable tale of danger and discovery, from debut author Michelle Modesto.

The two-bit town of Rogue City is a lawless place, full of dark magic and saloon brawls, monsters and six-shooters. But it’s just perfect for seventeen-year-old Westie, the notorious adopted daughter of local inventor Nigel Butler.

Westie was only a child when she lost her arm and her family to cannibals on the wagon trail. Seven years later, Westie may seem fearsome with her foul-mouthed tough exterior and the powerful mechanical arm built for her by Nigel, but the memory of her past still haunts her. She’s determined to make the killers pay for their crimes―and there’s nothing to stop her except her own reckless ways.

But Westie’s search ceases when a wealthy family comes to town looking to invest in Nigel’s latest invention, a machine that can harvest magic from gold―which Rogue City desperately needs as the magic wards that surround the city start to fail. There’s only one problem: the investors look exactly like the family who murdered Westie’s kin. With the help of Nigel’s handsome but scarred young assistant, Alistair, Westie sets out to prove their guilt. But if she’s not careful, her desire for revenge could cost her the family she has now.

• A Gritty Revenge Thriller: Westie lost her arm and her family to cannibals. Now they’re back in Rogue City, posing as wealthy investors, and she’s the only one who knows the truth.
• Steampunk Meets Dark Magic: In a lawless town where airships cross the sky and monsters brawl in saloons, a powerful clockwork arm is the only thing standing between justice and destruction.
• A Fierce Heroine: Foul-mouthed, fearless, and fueled by vengeance. Westie may have a mechanical arm, but she has an iron will to match.
• Enemies to Lovers Tension: She needs the help of Alistair, Nigel’s scarred and secretive assistant. But trusting him might be as dangerous as the killers she’s hunting.

Gr 9 Up—A page-turning, steampunk-esque Wild West adventure crawling with supernatural creatures. Seventeen-year-old Westie may be one of the most notorious citizens of Rogue City, a magic-filled town in California where creatures such as elves, ogres, vampires, and humans all live in relative peace thanks to the magic wards of the Wintu tribe. Westie comes to Rouge City as a one-armed child after escaping the cannibals who consumed her family. From that day on, she is raised by Nigel, a brilliant inventor who creates a mechanical arm for her, as well as Bena, a Wintu woman, and Alistair, a fosterling of Nigel's who wears a mechanical mask (another of Nigel's creations) over part of his face. Westie has spent years searching for the cannibals to extract her revenge, succumbing to alcoholic binges along the way. Then, the very people she is seeking arrive in Rogue City as potential investors for Nigel's newest invention—one that will help save the magic that is quickly being lost in the city. But how will she prove they are the same people who killed her family? This slightly gruesome story really has something for nearly everyone—there's romance, revenge, gunslinging, magic, vampires, and zombies. Yet somehow Modesto makes it all work. The only nagging issue is that the Wintu are portrayed as mystical, magical people, which makes them seem more "other" than the non-Wintu humans in the book. VERDICT A rollicking story, although not without flaws.—Heather Webb, Worthington Libraries, OH